incisive
adjective
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Incisive has meant "impressively direct and decisive" since around 1834 and derives from the Latin verb caedere, meaning "to cut." Its linguistic kin include many cuttings from the fruitful stem caedere, such as scissors, chisel, incise ("to cut into or engrave"), excise ("to remove by cutting"), incisor ("a front tooth typically adapted for cutting"), incision ("cut" or "gash"), precise ("minutely exact"), and concise ("brief"). Incisive also carries a couple of lesser-known literal meanings relating to cutting: "having a cutting edge or piercing point" (as in "incisive fangs"), and, in dentistry, "of, relating to, or situated near the incisors."
Examples of incisive in a Sentence
Philip Taubman, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
The former actors speaking in the new series echo many of the sentiments expressed in Dear Hollywood, an incisive podcast by the former Disney Channel ingénue Alyson Stoner.
—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
Christensen, a dogged reporter beloved by colleagues for his wry humor, collegiality, graceful writing and incisive mind, but above all his humility, died of cancer Monday at his home in Long Beach.
—Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Over the last six years, Edelman, 35, has performed the incisive set more than 500 times around the world.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024
In the left-field and more heady spheres of the L.A. underground rap scene, Ill Camille and Vel the Wonder established themselves as formidable and incisive lyricists.
—Liz Sanchez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Las Mujeres is a grab-bag of pop genre fusions, yet Shakira manages to hold court in every song with her incisive and enduring songcraft.
—Suzy Exposito, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2024
Good Energy set out to capture that same light-hearted yet incisive quality in measuring climate visibility.
—Jaden Thompson, Variety, 1 Mar. 2024
This incisive biography aims to separate the historical Ashoka, who ruled a vast swath of the Indian subcontinent in the third century B.C., from the one of legend.
—The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incisive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Incisive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incisive. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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